Maurice B. Dabney Jr., 93, pharmacist in Philly

Maurice B. Dabney Jr., 93, of Wynnefield, a pharmacist in Philadelphia, died Sunday, July 2, of cardiac arrest at home.

Mr. Dabney liked to watch the TV news each evening in his finished basement. He had just started up the cellar steps when he was stricken. He died instantly, his family said.

A graduate of West Philadelphia High School and Lincoln University, Mr. Dabney was among the first African Americans to graduate from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. He received his pharmacology license in 1948 and maintained it until 2012.

He followed in the footsteps of his father, Maurice B. Dabney, who owned Dabney's Pharmacy at 43^rd Street and Fairmount Avenue and was considered the dean of Philadelphia druggists in the 1920s.

 The younger Mr. Dabney  established a string of Dabney Pharmacy stores, at 15th and South Streets, 59th and Spruce Streets, and Thouron Avenue and Washington Lane. He also was licensed to work in the pharmacy at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital.

During the heyday of the drugstores in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, the outlets were tended by Mr. Dabney, who worked at various times with his father and his extended family.

"They had a soda fountain and a grill that made hamburgers and hot dogs at 15^th and South," said his daughter Norma Dabney Roman. "It was fun. We got to make ice cream sodas."

Before going into pharmacology, Mr. Dabney was a first lieutenant in the Air Force and served in the Korean War as a medical supply officer. He received an honorable discharge in the early 1950s.

He was a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, a historically black fraternity, and the Guardsmen and the Men – both social clubs. He was a founding member of Del Val Golf Club, a club for African Americans, and the Nile Swim Club in Yeadon.

Mr. Dabney was charming and charismatic, with an infectious laugh that echoed through the house, his daughter said. "He helped anybody who came to the door. He was extremely generous," she said.

He was married to Norma Lee Dabney for 63 years. The couple reared two daughters near 49^th and Sansom Streets. Later, the Dabneys moved to 50^th Street and Woodbine Avenue. His wife died in 2008.

Besides his daughter, he is survived by daughter, Deiadra Lee Dabney; a grandson; and nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 22, at West Laurel Hill Funeral Home Inc., 225 Belmont Ave., Bala Cynwyd. Interment will follow the service.

Donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, via https://alzfdn.org/, in memory of  Mr. Dabney's wife, who struggled with the disease.